Tag Archives: hip-hop

The tumbler B4-XVI berforesixteen has made a hilariously clever and all too accurate comparison between contemporary Hip Hop artists and paintings made before the 16th century, making everyone involved look quite ridiculous. When you first look at the fashion styles of centuries old paintings, you would not think anyone today would ever dream of looking like that, let alone a celebrity. However, if you think about it, what kind of person would wear flashy jewelry and frivolous fur coats? Well, Hip Hop artists! Their extreme amount of “bling” and often baggy clothing somewhat resembles the capes and jewelry of royalty depicted in classic paintings.

What makes the comparisons so on point is not just the uncanny similarities of clothing and accessories, but the position, stance, and even the facial expressions of both parties. I mean, what a lucky coincidence that Kanye West happened to be standing next to a priest for a hilarious comparison between himself and a painting of saints! Not to mention this goes perfectly with his infamous “Yeezus” complex. One aspect of Hip Hop style is missing from the series of 16th century paintings is the notorious “grill.” But don’t worry; there is instead a painting of two men proudly displaying their teeth while “mean-mugg’n” the viewer. This series of entertaining resemblances just goes to show you that every fashion style will make a comeback! (via Fubiz)

Fly Art is a Tumblr account created by students and artists Gisella Velasco and Toni Potenciano. Since December 2013, the duo have been collaborating on mashups of hip hop lyrics and classic artworks, blending two seemingly disparate cultural artifacts into a surprising and often humorous cohesion. Velasco and Pontenciano pair Nicki Minaj with Mona Lisa, Rihanna with Whistler’s Mother, and Outkast with Matisse. The large text overlaying the classic art is a bit jarring at first, but creates an interesting effect, recontextualizing both the lyrics and the images, each informing a new reading of the other. The project’s Tumblr states that it is “paying homage to the good things in life: fine art and fresh hip hop.” (via artnet)

Artist and designer Jay Shells is behind the twitter feed @TheRapQuotes. He dispenses daily notable rap quotes as tweets. He has since taken the idea to the street. Shells creates street signs of hip hop quotes that mention specific places, then posts the signs at their mentioned locations. Many of the lines are from iconic songs and legends of the genre – easily recalled. Adding the context of an actual location with the signs adds further depth the memorable tracks they reference.

Earlier this week I posted the Nephicide video featuring little kids projectile vomiting blood complete with black metal face paint. To round things out on the hip-hop side of things I present Yonkers by Tyler, The Creator. Watch Tyler play with giant insects, roll his eyes in the back of his head, have random nose bleeds, and most importantly vomit. If you’re not familiar with Tyler make sure to look him up. He’s part of ODD FUTURE WOLF GANG KILL THEM ALL (OFWGKTA), an LA hip-hop collective that has been getting some much deserved attention as of late. Watch the full video after the jump.

Sampling has long been a tradition within hip-hop music. In this amazing documentary some of the worlds most prominent hip-hop artists discuss sampling and issues of copyright infringement within the hip-hop community.The funniest part about stumbling onto this is that the entire documentary was posted immediately to youtube in 6 parts. Watch them here for free before they are removed for copyright infringement!

“Dame Otro Papel” is the name of the new music video from Barcelona hip-hop group El Gremio. The video, featuring some nice stop-motion animation, was done by Spanish animation studio Home de Caramel. Check out their site for more work, including some cool industrial design stuff.